Elevated Levels of Foreign Microparticles in the Blood of Patients with Digestive System Diseases

Abstract

Exogenous microparticles can penetrate the bloodstream through the digestive tract, causing systemic toxic effects, but this phenomenon has long been overlooked. Digestive disease patients, as a vulnerable group, have not been adequately studied regarding blood particulate pollution compared to healthy individuals. In this study, blood samples from 26 patients with digestive system diseases and 29 healthy controls were collected, and a method for blood sample digestion and microparticle separation was developed. Employing Raman spectroscopy, laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy, and scanning electron microscopy with energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, 7 types of materials were identified from 846 observed microparticles, including calcium carbonate, phthalocyanine, iron sesquioxide, and carbon. Notably, this study for the first time revealed that patients with digestive system diseases had a significantly higher quantity and larger size of exogenous microparticles in their blood. This implies that digestive diseases might enhance the nonselective gut permeability to microparticles and the risk of systemic organ exposure to particulate pollution. These findings offer new insights into the mechanisms of particulate transport within the body and provide valuable evidence for understanding the pathogenesis of complications in digestive diseases (such as thrombosis) and dietary recommendations for patients.